Scenarios: Rehab
by adcgordon
Summary: We're all in this together... or so the song says. But when one member of the group finds his way down the wrong path, can his friends turn him back around? And, will the thought of his previous love inspire him or push him further away? Rated M for safety.
1. Dancing Is Good for the Heart

**A/N: Oh, the ideas that hit you from time to time from out of the blue! A dance competition, a reunion and a broken bone don't usually inspire a story. But, in the always-wandering mind of a KTZLF'ing Zanessa fan...you just never know!**

**No, I don't own these characters, nor do I know them. But they've sure been an inspiration to me and will continue to be in my HSM-obsessed mind. :) **

**To those who read and review, thank you for feeding my addiction and fueling my obsession!**

**KTZLF!  
adc**

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**Scenarios: Rehab - Chapter 1**

"Marry me."

The statement was short and simple, but out of the blue. The dark, but highlighted curls on the young woman's head bounced as she chuckled lightly at her _friend's_ request.

"You're nuts, you know that?" Her dark eyes creased as she turned to look at the African-American man who was more like a brother to her than anyone else in the world.

"You said you _loved_ me," he shrugged his shoulders and watched as her eyes relaxed and she took a breath.

"Corbin, you're not serious," Vanessa shook her head and sent him a tilted gaze. "You don't love me romantically any more than I love you that way. I mean…me and you? Ewww…well, no offense, but yeah, ewww!" Her eyes danced with the absurdity of his initial question then brightened even more when he shook his head and laughed with her.

"You mean you wouldn't even consider it?" He questioned and turned toward the brightly lit mirror in his dressing room.

Vanessa looked at pictures that were sitting in the miniature living room. The photo of this same young man, holding the hand of a younger lady, her lips pressed against his cheek, caught her attention.

"Your sister would be highly disappointed in you if I'm the woman you choose to marry," Vanessa offered.

"My sister," Corbin glanced toward Vanessa through the mirror, catching sight of the frame in her hands, "would be _thrilled_ if I chose you and you accepted my proposal. Don't you remember her little pushes for us to date when we filmed the first musical?"

Vanessa smiled as Corbin held her gaze with his back still turned towards her. Both let the thoughts of the past make them smile and breathed deeply showing their contentment.

Corbin wiped the makeup from his face. Even his sweating on the dance floor couldn't remove the light sheen of foundation and powder that was meant to take the shine off his forehead. Having his dear friend in the audience of the hit dancing competition just made him work that much harder with his partner on stage.

After the performance he had made a beeline to Vanessa, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up for a swinging embrace. He honestly thought she wouldn't accept his invitation. She honestly thought it would be a great opportunity to see a dear friend that she had missed for far too long.

She set the picture down and wandered a little farther around the room to a photo that stemmed from the third movie that she and Corbin had filmed together. The shot of the two of them on a makeshift balcony made Vanessa shake her head.

"Why on earth is this here?" She looked toward the mirror and held up the glossy paper.

"Because it's me and my other sister," Corbin grinned at her and finally turned to throw away the wipes and cotton balls that now held his makeup.

Vanessa nodded with a roll of her eyes and looked at the other clipped pictures that were also on the small table. She recognized each and every person that was represented on paper. "I didn't realize you'd kept all these. Why do you have them here with you?" She wondered honestly.

Corbin stepped next to her and looked at the same images. "Inspiration," he breathed out easily. "I learned to work with you all and we did some amazing things in our movies. And when I think about what we accomplished it just reminds me that I can do this," he spun around and then grinned a bit shyly as Vanessa watched his expressions.

"You always were about the work ethic, weren't you," she reached up and pinched his cheek lightly. "Even playing a dumb jock you really weren't into goofing off." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at the various cohorts that she and Corbin both knew and loved.

"That's why you fell in love with me, wasn't it?" Corbin asked somewhat jokingly. "My work ethic kept us all on track and kept us moving to get the show done!" He raised his chin, daring her to defy his explanation.

"Riiiight," she agreed sarcastically. "That's what kept us moving and that's what made me fall in _love_ with you." She elbowed him in the ribs and giggled when he put his arm around her and squeezed a bit too tightly before placing a light kiss into her hair.

The two fell silent for a minute or so, looking at the pictures and reminiscing, before Corbin pulled in a long breath and let go of her. "So," he started slowly and watched as Vanessa looked beyond him, seeming to already know what was coming next. "If my marriage proposal isn't a go," he pressed his lips together, "who _do_ you love?"

"What?" Vanessa asked softly, hoping he would push this off as another joke.

Corbin rubbed his hands together and tried to smile at her. "Wh-who _are_ you in love with, Ness?" he asked with genuine interest.

After a moment of silently, verbally, stumbling through her mind, Vanessa simply shook her head and realized that her friend was watching her closely without a smile on his face. His question was a double-edged sword that had nothing to do with him.

"I-" she began and yet shifted her eyes away from his. No matter what she answered, their relationship wouldn't change. But her response would likely cut into one, or both of them. "You know who I'm with," she finally mumbled with the words blurring together in a rush.

The tone, the hurried sentence, the lack of eye contact; Corbin expected them all. It was Vanessa's way of trying to avoid the subject. But it was a topic he felt she needed to address and he finally had a chance to open the envelope.

"I didn't ask who you were _with_, Miss Hudgens. I asked with whom you are in _love_." Corbin raised his eyebrows and was pleased when Vanessa's eyes met his once more – even if it did require his most proper use of the English language.

Still, she didn't answer. That led Corbin to continue his thought. "_If_ it's the person we both are thinking of, at this very moment…" his voice trailed off wanting to gauge her response before saying anything more.

"It's not," she said quickly, but without conviction.

"Are you telling me the truth, or just trying to brush me off, here?" Corbin sat down on the coffee table and patted the seat of the cushioned chair in front of him.

Vanessa looked back and forth between his hands and eyes with a blank look on her face, eyes wide and lips sitting naturally on her lightly made up face. She tightened her arms over her chest, tucking her fingers under her triceps and trying to decide if she wanted to let the conversation move forward.

"Austin and I are…" she swallowed while trying to find the word to describe her relationship.

"I'm sure you are," Corbin interjected gently. "But you aren't in love with him."

"Yes, Corbin," Vanessa's shoulders became visibly tense as she pressed her side of the issue.

Her friend took another deep breath and patted on the seat again. "Sit down, please?" He requested and waited for the twenty-something year old woman to place her teenaged-acting body into the chair.

"Look," Corbin blinked and glanced back at the pictures on the table, then directly into Vanessa's eyes. "You and Austin… I know. You care for him and I believe he cares for you and may be in love with you. And there's a part of you that _loves_ him – but it's somewhere in between this _sibling_ love that you and I have going…and the way that you…_love_…Zac."

"But I don't…" she ran the words together earning Corbin's finger over her lips.

He pressed his own together while Vanessa shook her head in disagreement.

"Zac needs you, Nessa," Corbin looked directly into her eyes which stared back at him with far more emotion that she wanted to convey. "Whether either one of you wants to admit it or not, he needs you."

Vanessa sat still as Corbin pulled his finger away from her mouth. Her lips quivered, unable to deny what he was saying and yet wanting to express to him just how much work she had put into getting over her ex-lover throughout the past few years. Instead she just sat, trying to form some kind of sentence while looking at a man who cared deeply for both her and her ex.

Vanessa looked down at her hands that had somehow relaxed and fallen into her lap. "Have you talked to him?" She wondered aloud, taking the opportunity to turn their chopped conversation away from her suddenly breached emotional wall.

"Yes," Corbin nodded. "I've talked to him, I've seen him… Hell, Ness, I'm the one who brought him home from rehab," he laid his own hands out in front of him for her to see his openness.

"Oh," Vanessa whispered, "I thought his dad might have." She continued staring at her fingers and rubbing one of her manicured nails.

"No," Corbin leaned back on the table and then stood up, "I picked him up and took him home to San Luis. He and David were going to head to Peru for a bit for some r and r and just to try and clear his head."

"Good plan," Vanessa mumbled as she thought about their friend, the man she had fallen in love with a decade before, the same man who had fallen into a world of drugs before seeking help to try and climb back into his own, true, life. The same man that Corbin accused her of still loving; an accusation she couldn't sit there and deny with any true meaning.

Corbin opened his small refrigerator and grabbed two bottled waters. He loosened the caps on both and handed one to Vanessa. She offered a soft 'thank you' but then just held the bottle in her hands and stared at the top.

To ease her tension only slightly, Corbin stood behind her. "He needed the rehab, Ness. The coke is out of his system, his head is clear again, he's thinking straight. But he needs to know that he didn't go through all this crap for nothing."

Vanessa thought for a moment. "What?" She said more strongly. "Of course he didn't go through it for nothing, Corbs. He needed to get cleaned up for his own health and his own career."

"He needed to get cleaned up for _you_." Corbin cut in. "You know, since your breakup he went down hill. He turned to drinking, he turned to women he didn't even know and then he turned to drugs."

"Not. My. Fault." Vanessa stood up with eyes beginning to burn and turned quickly to look at Corbin. "I will not take the blame for him choosing this route. He was starting down that road a few months before we broke up, Corbin. You know that and I know that. Had we stayed together I may be in that same boat right now," she shook her head.

"Ness," Corbin stepped between her and the dressing room door to make sure she didn't escape. "You're right. It's not your fault. I'm not standing here trying to blame you. No way. It started before you guys split. And I know that was a mutual split, but then he spiraled. You found Austin and he found a bottle and white powder. I'm not saying it's your fault and neither will Zac. What I'm saying is that I think you two still love each other and I believe that while Z-Man was in rehab he was hanging onto a hope that maybe this would help you see that he needs you."

Corbin wiped a hand over his face. Vanessa pressed her lips together and twisted her head back and forth. "I get what you're saying, Corbin, but I can't handle that. We've each had to make choices for our lives. I can't help it that I found Austin. Call it fate, or whatever but…" She stopped and took a short breath just to ponder her next thought. I just…I can't handle it. And if he's put you up to talking to me…I just…"

"You gave him something, Ness. You gave him confidence and strength and helped him believe in himself. He's a good actor. We both know that, don't we? When you two split you might think he held onto that strength and ego – if you want to call it that. But when you went away, so did his confidence. He lost you and he lost himself. He needs that confidence again, now, Nessa." Corbin reached for her hand but stopped short of taking it, instead looking directly into her eyes to hold her focus. "He didn't put me up to this. I didn't aim for us to have this conversation here. But, look, he's still my friend and I'm just trying to tell you what I think he needs right now… and I think it's you."

Corbin's shoulders sagged. The thought of his friends apart had broken his heart. The people they had grown to be, apart, were practically two strangers. And yet he knew, who they could be, together, was a strong force of love that couldn't be broken.

"I love you both. You know that, don't you?" He watched Vanessa blink back tears that were fighting to form. She nodded at him slowly, unsure. "I'm sorry. You think I've ambushed you and I have. I didn't mean to. I just… I've watched him fall V. No finger pointing or blame games, I just watched him fall. He lost who he was because he lost you. And I'm scared that he's not truly going to find himself again unless…" Corbin let the thought linger in the air instead of finishing it.

"You do…still love him, don't you?" Corbin stepped closer to Vanessa and reached out with his thumb to wipe a tear from her cheek bone.

Vanessa closed her eyes, allowing his touch, remembering a similar one that Zac had offered her many times. The moment just made her more confused and unable to answer him with the truth or a lie.

"I don't know him now, Corbs. It makes a difference, you know? Just seeing him would be like starting from scratch. I don't know that I could put my heart through it all over again. I can't take the chance of him falling again and taking me with him. He's not _my Zac_ anymore. The man I fell in love with may still be inside of him but I wouldn't even know how to start looking for him." She blinked and let a tear drip from the corner of her eye.

Before Corbin could put his arms around her, Vanessa turned away and smudged at the wet spot under her eyelid. "A part of my heart will _always_ love him. I know that, he knows that. You know it, even Austin knows that. It's something I'll live with and a time of my life that I don't ever want to forget. But he's a different person now and so am I. We can't go back. And without going back I don't know if moving forward is even possible."

Vanessa glanced into the mirror and noted her friend's look of disappointment. She turned and stepped toward Corbin, his face showing the hurt, almost as though she was rejecting him instead of Zac. She wrapped her arms around his waist and allowed him to wrap his around her shoulders. Vanessa easily rested her head against his chest and heard his heartbeat echoing into his throat in the stillness.

"What would you have done if I had said 'yes' to your proposal?" Vanessa thought back to the way this heart-to-heart had begun.

Corbin laughed half-heartedly through his nose. "Probably would've asked you if _you_ were high." He leaned his nose down into her hair and breathed in deeply. "And then I would've called Zac and asked him to be my best man!"

Vanessa looked up into his only-partial smile. After another moment her expression matched his before she nestled her head against his pectoral muscle a second time. A few seconds later the young man could feel his friend's heartbeat speed up before her words were spoken. "Yes, Corbin, I do still love him. But if he needs me, I need to hear that…from him."

**RehabChapter1**

"She still loves you. She said it and I heard it with my own ears." Corbin held the phone against his ear with his shoulder as he threw his workout clothes into a duffel bag.

"And she's disappointed with me and doesn't know who I am anymore and the drug stuff scares the shit out of her. Yeah, thanks for grilling her, man." The sarcastic voice held a distinct disappointment factor.

"Look, I admit, it scares the shit out of me, too, and I'm still here. Do you realize that my stomach hit the floor when you called me and told me what you were doing, where you'd been, getting help? I'm still kicking myself that you fell so far off my radar…it won't happen again, Z-man." Corbin stood up straight and grasped the phone with his fingertips as he waited for some kind of response.

"I appreciate that, Corbs, man, I really do. But I know it's my own screw-up. It's not your fault or her fault or anyone's but my own. It's my life – it always has been. No one forced me to get high, I just wanted to. Hey, it's good experience to fall back on when I play a druggie in a movie, right?" Zac stated his thought matter-of-factly to his old friend. He only halfway expected a chuckle from Corbin, which he didn't receive.

"I'm not laughing at that, Z-man," Corbin's tone was almost fatherly over the air waves.

"I have to laugh at it, Corbin. I have to make jokes about it because if I don't then the rehab hell is gonna build right back up. I've done the d.t.'s, I've sweat it out and I've practically beat my head against the wall to get back to where I am. If I can't look at it as real-life movie experiences or laugh about it then what do I gain from it?" The crop-topped young man looked out the window of his bedroom and shook his head. "Huh, what?" he asked the rhetorical question.

On the other end, Corbin sighed. "We both know what you _hope _to gain but you aren't willing to say it out loud. Did you tell your counselors the real reason behind the great _Zac-drug-cleanup_? Do they know you started hitting the bottom when you let go of the person you loved most?"

"It had nothing to do with…"

"Bull. Crap." Corbin interrupted. "Can you just man up for a minute? Put away Party Zac and Bachelor Zac and Hookup Zac. Let's just go back to the guy who fell in love as a teenager… the one who had stars in his eyes but was bound and determined to start his own production company because he believed that 'the little guy' deserves at least a shot in the dark."

"The love thing has nothing to do with anything. And that little guy got his shot, took it and hit the target dead on." Zac raised his voice and then let a breath escape through his nose. "The problem is, once your shot hit's the mark, it's done."

"Again, bull crap," Corbin gritted his teeth as he listened to his friend. "You don't believe that any more than I do. What you and V did together… Zac you two are amazing together. And NRW is on its way up because of both of you – mainly you. It's got your backbone and has your name written all over it."

"Just…look at the second chance you're getting here, Zac. You kicked the drugs. Don't let them pull you back in. You were smart enough to realize they were kicking your butt. You got help. No backsliding here. There are too many of us in your corner, pushing for you to get another shot. Vanessa's one of them, if you'll let her. You gotta take this second shot. I'm telling you where you need to aim. If you still love her then it's time to stop feeling sorry for yourself and let her know that."

"Very smooth, C.B.," Zac deadpanned as he let his friend's words roll around in his mind.

"What d'ya mean?" Corbin fired back hesitantly.

"Let her know that maybe our breakup wasn't the best choice I've made? Let her know that seeing her with another man pissed me off so much that I lost control and went looking for a way out – any way out - of reality for a while?" Zac huffed with a defeated kind of chuckle. "Let her know that I'm not sure who I've slept with and yet I'm 99 percent sure I've compared every one of them to her?" He let another breath escape. "And then tell her that I still love her and want her back in my life?"

Corbin waited until Zac finished his last sentence and then gave one simple response, "Yeah."

"I can't, Corbin," Zac spoke softly with an attempt to be firm.

"I disagree," the fatherly tone was clear once more. "You need her, Zac. Find a way to see her and tell her that. Just like asking her out on a date the first time, Dude. You have to do it, I can't. She needs to hear it from you."

"You make it sound like it should be so easy," Zac shook his head and looked down toward his naked toes gripping the plush carpet of his home. "I'm not the jackass teenager with a crush on a beautiful young actress anymore."

"No, you're right, you aren't. You're a grown man with a lot of life experience under your belt now. Good choices, bad choices, decisions that you've had to make…you've come through them and now you're on the other side." Corbin zipped up the gym bag and sat it on his bedside table before scratching his five o'clock shadow and thinking about the feelings that must have been overwhelming his friend, his brother.

"So you aren't that kid anymore," Corbin spoke gently into the phone. "Who are you?"

"I'm a drug addict who's trying to get his life back on track," Zac confessed as his rehabilitation had encouraged him to do.

"And you've got family and friends surrounding you who want to help you. But you actually have to take some of the advice that we give you." Corbin chuckled as he heard a playful "Pssshhh" from the opposite end of the line.

"Who is the one person that you believe can help you? Who was on your mind when the d.t.'s hit and you were grasping for any reason at all to keep going?" Corbin dared to ask questions that Zac needed to remember and face the answers.

They both knew the name that sat in Zac's mind. Her face _had_ been the one he saw when he was ready to chuck it all and go back to the dealer for another hit.

"I don't want to pull her down, Corbin. That was part of the problem to begin with. I got drunk, or got a little high and she knew it was wrong. I knew it was wrong, but I didn't listen to what she was saying. I was on my own and doing my own thing. I thought she'd just roll with it but we got to a point that she'd had enough. She…she said we needed to make a choice and that one time…that one time in years, our choices didn't mesh. She was ready to look for someone who…I don't know," Zac sighed sadly. "I think I realize now that it was an ultimatum more than a choice for her. If I said that I was willing to try seeing other people, then she would give up her attempts to pull me back in."

Corbin's breath was a little heavy in Zac's ear. "Do you think she would've kept fighting? If you hadn't given her the okay to see other guys, or whatever, would she have kept pushing you to clean up your act?" He wished he could see Zac's face as he thought about the woman he had let go.

"I don't know. She had already reached a breaking point, apparently. What actually scares me, Corbs, is that…if she had stuck by me…I may have pulled her right under along with me."

"Is that what still scares you?" Corbin asked as he glanced out the window and then toward his living room.

"I don't know anymore. It scares me to think about life without her…but I don't know that a life with her is even a possibility."

Zac thought about the young woman they were discussing. He had learned to live without her, with the drugs as a crutch. Now that crutch was gone. But was he healed enough to do without them _and_ the woman he still dreamed of each night. Or could he find a way back into her heart to save his life.

**Rehab Chapter 1**


	2. So

**Oh how I adore these 'characters' and your reviews! Thank you for feeding my obsession and fueling my imagination. :)**

**Reminder, I own nothing of HSM, or these beloved actors and actresses other than numerous trinkets that remind me just how special they are.**

**KTZLF!  
adc**

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**Scenarios: Rehab - Chapter 2 - So...**

"So…" The dark skinned woman looked at the man who had been her counterpart in three movies.

"So," he breathed out through his nose and offered her a closed-lip smile as he dabbed the sweat off his forehead and reached into the small dressing-room refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of water.

"So?" Monique raised her eyebrows at him and shook her head.

Both of them began laughing at the conversation – or lack of it.

"You invited me to come watch you dance…with someone else. I'm a little hurt," Corbin's now-married cohort crossed her arms with only a slightly menacing scowl.

"I had an ulterior motive," he admitted with a little boy's pout as he turned toward the mirror.

"Which is?" She watched him dry his face and take a deep breath.

"Zac needs to see Vanessa," he turned and faced his friend with a serious look on his face.

Monique tilted her head as she considered his statement. "And?" she questioned simply while keeping an eye on Corbin's stance.

He breathed in and out slowly, resting his hands on a nearby chair and looking eye to eye with this friend which shared so much of his history. "And, I don't know," he admitted. "I just know he needs to see her and I want to help him and I don't know how to do that."

"I'm not sure that V wants to see _him_, Corbs. You know? In all of _our_ minds – all of us that were in their circle years ago, I mean – we all would love to see them back together again. But _all_ of our worlds have changed now. Yes, we are all still friends, but so much has changed." Monique looked away, spotting the same photographs that had caught Vanessa's eyes the week before in the same location.

"I know. I realize that. I'm not living in a dream world here, Mo," Corbin countered.

"No?" She looked at him with a sideways grin. "Really?"

"Well, okay, I'm always kind of in a dream world…" Corbin returned her smile and shook his head. "It's just… Z-man has been through a lot lately. He needs to know that his friends are there for him. And I know, for a fact, that the idea of getting back together with V is what got him through a big part of this mess."

Monique drew in a breath and held it momentarily as she thought about what he was sharing. "I don't know, Corbin." She breathed steadily for another second as her eyes darted around the décor. "Are_ we_ the friends he needs to have around him? Do you think he really wants _us_ around in this part of his life or is this finally the big _move-on_ phase for Zac? Don't get me wrong, please. I love him like a brother. I always will. And I _hate_ that the pressures of his life pushed him to drugs. We all fought against them but I think we also knew that once we drifted apart, the fight was even harder, for all of us." She shrugged her left shoulder slightly and slowed her speech as she listened to what she was saying. "Don't you think he needs to put his past behind him – and maybe that includes us?"

"No," Corbin answered strongly but softly. "No, I don't." He stepped around the chair and sat down in it, leaning his forearms on his thighs and clasping his hands together. He stared at his fingers, linked together in front of him.

"Monique, that bond that we formed years ago isn't something any of us can forget," Corbin shook his head as he thought about it. "You said it. We are all like brothers and sisters. We swore we would be there for each other, wherever, whenever, whatever was going on. _We_ let Zac slip through the cracks."

"He didn't reach out to us, Corbin," Monique added quickly.

"Because that's who he is and we know that. He doesn't ask us or anyone. I think he's just now seeing that he doesn't have _all_ the answers," Corbin released his hands and wiped his palms over his knees. "We all grew up quickly in the HSM chaos, but that doesn't mean we learned everything about life in those few years. The people we are now…that doesn't change the fact that we are family. He called _me_, Mo. When his rehab was done and he needed a ride home, he called _me_, because he said I was his brother."

The young woman nodded her head slightly. "He used to turn to Vanessa," she recalled.

"Yeah. Not as much as he probably should have to try and keep things together. I think that was one of the things they argued about. He would take on so much stress and she'd tell him to talk to her and he wouldn't. It would wind up in a shouting match when she'd finally push him to talk and he'd let loose." Corbin pinched at the fabric of his pants as he thought about the past. "This is our chance to get back in with him, Mo-Mo. This is the chance for us to pull him back toward us and steer him back onto the path where he needs to be."

"But again, Corbs, how do you know that's the path he wants? How do you know that he wants V involved? Is that what he _needs? _And what makes you think after all this time that _she_ would even consider making _him_ part of her life again?" Monique sat down across from Corbin and placed her left hand on his, unintentionally displaying her wedding band. "Vanessa's more than _involved_ with Austin. You know that. You can't just go around picking who she can and can't have a relationship with, you know."

"But that's what big brothers do, don't we? We watch out for our little sisters," Corbin attempted to explain with a knowing smirk.

"Watch out for them, yes," Monique patted his hand a little stronger than necessary. "Butt into their love-life? No." She ducked her chin and gave him a teacher's glare.

"But –"

The female stare and raised eyebrows made Corbin take a deep breath.

"Alright, so I can't just find Austin and tell him that he's gonna have to give her up," he watched as Monique shook her head with a slight smile. "And I can't just go to her place and start tossing his things into the garbage…" Monique rolled her eyes.

"No, you can't do either of those things, or anything else that resembles trying to break them up. Corbin, Austin has made her happy. When the hurt of the breakup wore off…when Vanessa willed herself to let someone else into her heart it was Austin." Monique spoke softly about their friend's current, significant other.

"But she still _loves_ Zac," Corbin enunciated the words carefully.

"And I'm sure she always will. But, Honey, there's a lot more involved with loving someone who is your friend and loving someone who will share your whole life." The twenty-something female blinked her eyes and watched her male counterpart. "_We_ thought that Zac and Vanessa were in it for life. For a while, I think they believed that, too. They shared things that no one can ever take away from them, but I just don't know that the life commitment is there, between them, anymore. And, as much as we want to," she smiled sadly, "we can't make that decision for them."

"Can they _not_ just see each other as friends?" Corbin changed his thought to an idea that should be more simplistic. "Doesn't he deserve to at least see her and tell her face to face that he's finally winning over the addiction? Can't he at least have the opportunity to tell her that he's still in love with her?" Corbin held his hands out in front of his chest seemingly begging for the chance.

"Or is that taking a risk of him feeling rejected when she tells him that she's in love with Austin now? We know things got worse for Zac when she followed through with the plan to see other guys. It threw his life completely out of balance. Do we want to do that to him again?" Monique squinted slightly, feeling torn between her own thoughts and ideas. "So we're right back at the starting line," Monique sighed. "I'm not sure Zac seeing Vanessa is such a good idea, for either of them."

"I still can't believe it would be a _bad_ thing," Corbin leaned his hip against the couch and watched as his female friend grasped her hands together and began to rub the metallic circle that hugged her ring finger. "Even if it's just looking at each other from opposite ends of a restaurant table, I won't believe it's a negative for either of them."

"And what are you planning to do, set them up on a blind date? You can't just throw them together." She breathed out heavily through her nose and crossed her arms over her abdomen. "Look, I want them to see each other. I want them to _talk_ and be friends at the absolute least – real friends again. But I don't want either one of them to blame us if they can't make that happen."

"But don't we have to take that chance?" Corbin reached out and pulled Monique's hand away from her body to hold it with both of his larger hands. "If we stick with the _status quo_, Mo, we both know what happens. Nobody _breaks free_ and Sharpay takes over the theater department. Is that what you want?" He grinned as he looked into her once-more-rolling eyes knowing she had very easily understood his references to their shared movie memories.

"No one said anything about theater, Corbin. This is a lot different than trying to keep a couple of teenagers from making stupid mistakes."

"Is it?" Corbin pressed his lips together and stared at his friend. "Fate put them together. Stupid decisions broke them up. They've avoided seeing each other for whatever God-forsaken reason. I think they know, in their hearts that they need each other. But A – they won't admit it. And B – Vanessa's scared now, with good reason."

He squeezed her hand tightly. "I believe we're all over-thinking this, Mo. I believe if the two of them will just listen to each other, and realize how far they've come – but how hard the road has been for both of them – they can figure out that their lives would just be easier…together. It's just simple…like kindergarten."

Monique smiled at him and put her hand on his cheek. "Do you seriously believe that, Corbin Bleu?"

"They are my brother and my sister, Mo. I saw the sparks between them. I saw the looks in their eyes whenever they were together. There could be a hundred people in the room but Zac and Vanessa only saw each other. I don't believe that's changed. I think it was too simple for them and that scared them. But now it's time for them to suck it up, get over that fear and get back together."

"And how do you plan to make this happen?" Monique tilted her head to look at the hopeful face in front of her.

"A reunion. It's been five years, Mo. Dinner, dancing, a party, something… Something that will put us all back in the same room and put their eyes back on each other. Will you help me…Zac…us, please?"

**RehabChapter2**

The text was simple and had apparently been sent to a bunch of different recipients.

"_HSM 5 year reunion…will benefit Gimme Mo – are you in?"_

Vanessa read the text twice and took a deep breath. _Whose idea was this anyway? _She wondered as she looked blankly at the phone screen.

"What's up?" her sister broke the quiet moment with the simple question.

"Hmmm?" Vanessa blinked as she thought about what Stella was asking.

"Who was that?" Stella looked at her older sibling with a higher level of curiosity.

"Mo-Mo," Vanessa answered with thoughts still running through her mind.

"Everything okay?" Stella wondered simply.

"Yeah…" Vanessa drew out the word and then twisted her lips. "She's wondering if I'd be up for an HSM reunion. I can't believe it's been five years since number three hit the theaters. Crazy." Her eyes shifted slightly, focusing on nothing in particular in the expansive living room where they sat.

"Yeah, crazy," Stella echoed quietly. She paused a moment as she thought, "Is she talking another movie, or what?" The younger girl looked into the face of her older sister. The two could've practically been twins minus the age difference.

"I don't know," Vanessa sighed and ran a finger through her long dark hair just to move it out of her face as she leaned forward to put the phone on a table. "Her message said something about _Gimme Mo_… Maybe she wants the crew to be on one of her webcasts or something."

"Talking about what's happened since the movies and what life actually throws at you?" Stella pressed her lips together and nodded. That would actually be a pretty highly watched episode, I'd bet.

Vanessa shrugged. "Yeah, could be, I suppose. Not sure it would attract the viewers that Monique's actually going for though."

Stella sat back against the couch. "Oh, I dunno. If you catch the high school crowd and even some college agers… So what, the older _crazed fans_ tune in too," she grinned slightly, "the more the merrier, right? As long as they aren't rocking your car or hiding in bushes to get pictures of you and –" she stopped quickly with her humorous thought.

"And?" Vanessa shook her head knowing exactly what, or _who,_ her sister was about to mention. She raised her eyebrows now waiting on the 17 year old to finish what she'd started.

"Nothing," The smile waned to only a slight grin trying to pacify and divert Vanessa's attention.

"No, go ahead. It's okay, Stellz, really," Vanessa urged her to go ahead just to see where the conversation might go. She couldn't help but think about her chat with Corbin just a couple of weeks prior – and how that might be linked to the message Monique had texted.

"Did she text Zac, too?" Stella wondered rather quietly.

"It was a group message. I'm guessing she did, but I didn't look at it that closely," Vanessa leaned back against the soft surface and found a comfortable spot in the corner of the cushions staring at the open air in front of her.

Stella watched her sister zone out of the conversation and knew Vanessa's brain was racing with a hundred different thoughts brought about by that one name.

"Is he," Stella hesitated, "doing okay?"

Vanessa blinked but didn't answer quickly. When she focused on her sister's latest question her answer zipped from her lips. "I don't know," she shook her head without a smile and glimpsed at the younger woman. "I haven't talked to him in ages," she pouted with her words and shrugged her shoulders. "If he wanted me to know he could've called," she finished.

Stella nodded slowly, taking in her sister's body language. "Are you mad that he didn't?" She wondered with true curiosity.

Vanessa cocked her head to the side and looked directly at Stella. "Should I be? I'm not," she shook her head back and forth with a jerk and raised her eyebrows. "He hasn't spoken to me, practically, since Austin and I got serious. He's got plenty of other people watching out for him, Stellz. There's no reason for me to be mad or for him to let me know anything anymore."

Stella felt her own stomach twist at the mix of emotions she was feeling on Vanessa's behalf. She took a deep breath and watched Vanessa look back at her phone and run a finger over the darkened screen.

"If Mo's looking for a reunion," Stella ran her eyes slowly between her sister's face and fingers, "are you up for it – if Zac's gonna be there, too?"

Vanessa sucked in a breath and held it. Her lips were tight with tension as she pondered the idea. "I'll talk to Austin about it," she answered rhetorically.

"That's not what I asked," Stella's eyes darkened slightly.

"I don't have an answer right now, Stella. What do you want me to say?" Vanessa turned her palms up in front of her waist and matched her sister's eyes. "Monique's invitation is kinda cryptic anyway. I don't know if she's talking dinner or a trip to Utah or some charity event or if she's trying to throw me and him back together. Until I have more details I can't answer your question or hers." Vanessa let her breath escape quickly with a bit of exasperation. "I'll have to talk to Mo and see what she's got in mind and then, if I need to, I'll discuss it with Austin and get his opinion on whether or not I should be part of it."

Stella's eyes softened, but the look on her face continued her sense of disbelief. "He can't make the call on whether you go or not, V. And if Zac's involved you can bet Austin's gonna tell you not to go. That's not fair to you or Mo – no matter what she has planned."

"Well if Zac's involved I'm not going to keep it a secret from Austin!" Vanessa's eyebrows knit together at her discontent with the discussion.

"That's not what I'm saying and you know it," Stella countered. "Just… call Mo-Mo and find out what she's thinking. If it benefits _Gimme Mo_ then it's for a good cause." Stella and Vanessa both relaxed slightly with that thought.

Vanessa rotated her shoulders to release the tension and nodded her head. She picked up her phone and looked again at the message her friend had sent. She pressed her lips together as she mentally noted the list of people who had received the message.

Her breath hitched silently at the last name in the batch, ZEfron.

**Rehab Chapter 2**


	3. I'm In

**An HSM Reunion? Yes! Oh, how I wish they would've picked more than one winner - but to that lucky young lady...I'm a bit jealous! Have fun and enjoy that amazing trip! :) Now, for our story's sake, do you think it was an easy decision for those involved? I'm guessing it wasn't for everyone. **

**Again, I don't own these characters or anything HSM related other than a few trinkets - and now an HSM Reunion '13 t-shirt! (yay!) This is just another idea from the fictional/fanatical brain of one 'crazed fan'.**

**Thanks for reading and KTZLF!  
adc**

* * *

**Scenarios: Rehab - Chapter 3 - In**

"_I'm in…" _

The response came after a long conversation between old friends who were more like siblings. Vanessa sighed as she sent the message that committed her to a charity event unlike any other that she had been a participant.

Austin knew as soon as she walked into his New York apartment that something was on his girlfriend's mind. Instead of the _"Hey, Baby!"_, and smiling face followed by a hug and kiss, he had been greeted by a single index finger in the air while she spoke on the phone and a shaking head when he offered to take her single, small suitcase.

Vanessa had nervously ended her call and wandered into the small kitchen to grab a glass of water. From there she stared into the living room where her boyfriend was calmly watching tv. When she finally walked to the other room and sat down beside Austin he met her with his own unsure voice.

"What's up?" He tried to smile at the dark haired woman beside him but couldn't meet her eyes.

"Monique needs some help," Vanessa started without noticing that Austin wasn't looking her in the eyes – because she was avoiding his as well.

"What kind of help?" His soft voice spurred her to continue and made Vanessa realize that she had, perhaps, already sent him a fearful vibe.

"With her webcast," Vanessa slid her tongue over her mouth and then ran her top teeth over her glistening bottom lip. "She's having a fundraiser for _Gimme Mo_," she explained a bit further.

"Okay," Austin chanced looking at Vanessa's cheekbones. "How much does she need? I thought the show was doing alright."

"Well," Vanessa twisted her lips and looked into his eyes for the first time since she had arrived on the East Coast. "You know every project can always use financial help. But this one's a little more complicated. She's trying to grab more viewers along with the cash flow."

Austin turned his body toward hers on the small couch in the living room and rested his long arm along the back of the furniture. He tilted his head to try and read Vanessa's expression. "Makes sense… Where do you fit in?"

Vanessa smiled at him with closed lips, showing tiny dimples in this explanation that should have been less than complicated. "She wants to have a dinner – a contest – where fans who make donations could win a chance to have dinner with us."

Austin pressed his lips together as his eyebrows dipped slightly. "Us?" He reached out with the tip of his thumb and touched Vanessa's shoulder. "You mean like…me and you, us? Or you and Monique?"

Vanessa's nervous lip-biting habit hadn't changed over the years. What had become a signal to her previous boyfriend was the same to her current one. Austin retracted his light touch.

"What?" He asked with a slow, serious breath.

Vanessa swallowed and looked at him. "She and Corbin have devised a plan for a High School Musical reunion of sorts…"

Austin rolled his tongue in his mouth and looked past Vanessa's cheek to the wall behind her. He nodded with little understanding. "Reunion as in…"

"As in the main six of us, maybe a few others. Dinner. Meet and greet with whichever fan wins the contest and a special edition of the webcast. A chance for us to get back together and just catch up for a little while… It's been five years since the third movie came out…"

Vanessa's tears betrayed her in more than one way. The thought of how far they had all come in half a decade was simply overwhelming. The bonds that she formed with her friends were some that she could never deny. The idea of spending time with all of them again was amazing- but frightening at the same time. Mostly, though, she didn't want Austin to think she was attempting to use her emotions to sway a decision that really wasn't even his to make.

He watched her duck her head to try and hide the teardrops. He attempted to run through the facts that she had shared but still couldn't wrap his mind around much more than his love's emotional display and the role that her ex-boyfriend might be playing in this whole scene.

Austin blinked a couple of times and quietly breathed in. He scooted closer to Vanessa on the cushions and wrapped his arms around her. "Shhh," he pressed a kiss against her hair.

Vanessa leaned against his kiss. She didn't say anything more but found his hand with hers and weaved their fingers together.

"How was your flight?" Austin diverted the conversation to a safer topic and felt her sarcastic chuckle against his shoulder.

"L.A. to New York; nothing exciting other than the family of five that recognized me as they boarded the plane," she quietly laughed against his shirt and used the gesture to regain her composure and squelch the tears.

"Uh-oh," Austin brushed his nose through her hair and shared her short laugh. "Tell me it was the dad who picked you out of the crowd." He smiled genuinely as she looked up at him and shook her head.

With a quick kiss to his lips Vanessa breathed out and relaxed enough to show him her own grin. "No, it was the little guy that I accidentally tripped. He was probably about 10 years old, maybe. His mom was poking him to keep moving and I happened to shift around and stuck my foot into the aisle just as he shuffled past me. I apologized and he looked up at me. His eyes got huge and he looked back at his mom and said, _"She looks like Gabriella, Mom!"_ And then his mom turned blood red and she apologized to me before pushing him harder to get to their seats."

Vanessa laughed at the memory. "I have this feeling the mom was a _crazed fan_ at some point, you know?"

Austin shook his head. He knew exactly what she was referring to; one of those experiences with her former lover that he could only imagine. But in this moment he wouldn't give into that cringing thought. "I think you're a bit crazed. Did you get away without giving an autograph?"

"Yeah," Vanessa nodded, "But you should've seen their faces. I figure, from the looks of it, all of them recognized me, but if Mom wasn't willing to say something, the rest of them weren't going to, either."

The two shared another smile before Austin opened his arms and beckoned her for another hug. Vanessa leaned closer and wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him pull her closer into a proper greeting for a couple who hadn't seen each other in nearly two weeks. When she pulled back slightly it was only to allow their lips to meet.

Both followed the lip-lock by pressing their own lips together and savoring the fact that they were back in the same room once more.

"So," Austin began again, "Monique wants a reunion," he held her gaze. "I take it this includes…Zac?"

**RehabChapter3**

"No."

Zac's answer was plain and simple and left no room for Corbin to even suggest a good reason to take part.

"You need to do this," the African American attempted to counter the one word Zac had spoken.

"_Need?_" Zac raised his eyebrows. That, in addition to the higher pitched scowl of his voice, told Corbin that, perhaps, he had chosen the wrong word.

"No, what I _need_ is to just get out of the house and go surfing or sailing or something. I don't _need_ to be in the same room with a bunch of people reliving the past that is just that…in the past. It's time for me to put the past behind me Corbin and finally move forward. That's what I _need_."

"So what am I doing here right now then? Mo-Mo was right? Is that what you're telling me? You don't need us in your life anymore? Time for the mighty Zac Efron to move on and do something better with his life?" Corbin's lips pressed together with a slight blaze showing in his darkened eyes. "I thought maybe you were reaching out to us because being with your _friends_ could help you get through this a little easier and get back on the right track."

Zac turned toward the counter in his kitchen where they were standing and opened his dishwasher. He knew he had hurt his friend's feelings and that wasn't what he intended. But the idea of being in the same room as Vanessa and pretending to enjoy the time together while some fanatic dissected their every facial twitch wasn't his idea of making progress with the inner struggles he was facing.

He reached into the device and pulled several plates from the bottom rack. After a deep breath he turned around and pushed the dishes toward his darker-skinned friend. "That's not what I meant and you know it, Corbin." He gestured his head toward a cabinet behind the other man where his other plates lived.

"Then what _do_ you mean?" Corbin did as requested and put the dishes away before crossing his arms over his chest. "Monique's gonna do this fundraiser thing. With or without your blessing she's going to do it. She's billing it as an HSM reunion and you're going to have to play some part in it. You know there's no excuse for you not to be involved."

Zac raised his eyes and met Corbin's with an attempt to fight his last line. Still Corbin pushed on. "If you love her like you claim you do, there's no excuse."

Zac's eyes softened. "If I love who, Monique…or Vanessa?"

"Ashley, you doof…actually all three of them!" Corbin laughed at his own joke while Zac rolled his eyes. "Ash and Mo-Mo will both call you out on any excuse you try to give. You know, in the end you'll have to do something. If you aren't actually there… I don't know… you'd better come up with something really good if you seriously don't want to do this."

"Is _she_ in?" Zac pulled a coffee mug out of the washer and leaned against the counter watching Corbin.

"Vanessa?" Corbin wondered, knowing exactly where Zac's mind had gone. "I don't know yet. This whole idea just kinda popped up. Monique was going to call Ashley and then tag-team V to see if they could get her on board, but I don't know if it worked or not. Last I heard, V was heading across the country for the weekend so I don't even know if they've talked to her or not."

"She's back in New York?" Zac's mind latched onto a tidbit of what Corbin was saying.

Corbin nodded slowly. "Just visiting as far as I know, but yeah."

Zac nodded and turned back to the clean dishes on the racks. "I can't watch her cozying up to somebody else, Corbs, you know? I like the idea of the reunion thing. It should be great for _Gimme Mo, _and I'd love to help, but I don't know that I can be in the same room with her, knowing she's fallen in love with someone else."

"Aren't you still friends, though?" Corbin wondered innocently. "I know you're hurt and she was hurt along the way and you didn't mean to hurt each other…it just kinda happened. But deep down aren't you still friends, at least?"

Zac looked at his friend and felt the knot catch in his throat. "Deep down? Deep down I still love her. Deep down I would do anything for her. And deep down I'm afraid that if you put me in the same room with her and I can't wrap my arms around her and walk out of that room with her… then you might as well just give me a dirty heroin needle and a bag of crack and just forget about me."

"Don't!" Corbin snapped at the words and the way Zac stated them.

"Don't what? Don't tell you what I'm thinking? I'm sorry if that bothers you, but that's exactly what comes to my mind when I think about that situation." Zac looked at the floor and blinked several times knowing his friend was watching. "It's a different side of me, Corbs. It's a part of me that I don't like and I'm trying to ditch it. But the thoughts are still there."

"I'm sorry," Corbin mumbled as he focused on a floor tile and listened to the man in front of him.

Zac shook his head and took a deep breath. "There's nothing to be sorry for, my friend. But when I tell you 'no' to this reunion dinner idea…that's why I mean, 'no'."

Corbin nodded in understanding. He stepped closer to the counter and leaned his elbow onto the granite. "Can I ask you something?" He watched Zac put away some forks and spoons into a nearby drawer.

"Shoot," Zac shrugged his shoulders.

"Are you mad…at her, I mean? Whatever pushed you to try the drugs… is part of it because you're mad at Vanessa for finding Austin?" He tightened his lips as he thought about what Zac might say.

Zac stood up straighter and stretched his back. He looked out the window of his kitchen to the pool that made up much of his back yard. "Mad? Yeah, probably. When she left it was because of the drinking. I didn't want to admit that _maybe_ I had a problem but she could see it. Hell, most people could. Thing is, I had to see it and I couldn't. So, I was p.o.'d that she'd even think there was a problem. And, I reached a point where I thought, _"If she thinks I have a problem, I'll show her a problem,"_ and…" he hesitated, "I was in a place that the coke and crack and heroin were readily available."

"Do you blame her?" Corbin lifted himself off the floor and sat on the counter top watching his dear friend 'come clean'.

Zac shook his head. "No." His eyes moved slowly around the room looking at various items on the counters and walls. He opened his mouth to say more and then stopped as he thought through the various memories and situations that were all at once shooting through his brain all over again.

"I can't blame…Vanessa. _I_ let things get out of hand. If anything, now, I'm angry and frustrated with myself. I never tried to be Mr. Squeaky Clean, but somewhere between being movie star and being myself I got lost. So I guess I blame myself…and that just takes me down a whole other path," he sighed.

Corbin watched him quietly, trying to understand what Zac was feeling and wondering if there was anything that could've been done differently, by any of them, to help him avoid what he had been through. The truth remained; Zac had already come through the formal rehab, admitted that there was a problem and turned for help.

"What path do you want to be on now?" Corbin asked gently.

Zac looked up at him and smiled. "I want to be on the one with friends who love me and care for me. I want back on the one where I can go out and have fun and live my life."

"V could be one of those friends. She still cares, Z-man. She still loves you."

Zac looked at his friend as though Corbin was a little boy. "And I still love her. And one day, maybe that part of my heart can open up again…the part that will allow me to _be_ just a friend to her and not _want_ everything we used to have, but just the friendship. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," Corbin nodded and smiled.

After a moment he hopped down from the counter and walked to the fridge to grab a soda. He opened the stainless steel door and fumbled around looking for the can he wanted. "Even after all that," he started with his head still inside the cooler, "Mo-Mo's still not gonna let you get away with _nothing_ for this reunion. _If_ V is in, and Ashley's in - God help us all – I've already thrown my name into the hat and I'm pretty sure Lucas is on board, you're gonna have to do something."

He pulled the cola can out and turned around, popping the top and slurping the fizz from the lip of the container.

Zac rolled his eyes and sighed rather heavily. "I know. Mama Monique is on the war path. I'll have to come up with something."

**RehabChapter3**

"Come on, Nessie, you know you wanna be in on this. We'll get our schedules coordinated, go out shopping, get our nails and hair done. It'll be like old times!" Ashley's excitement only reverberated slightly against Vanessa's ear.

"I have a lot going on the next few months Ash. You know that. The _Gimme Shelter_ opening, I'm supposed to go with Austin to a charity auction, and I've got a _ton_ of potential scripts to read through." Vanessa ran her hand through her hair as she thought of the laundry list she was reciting – mainly poor excuses – for why she might not be able to join their so-called reunion.

"Pshhh," Ashley blurted. "No excuses, Hudgens. You're in. You know you want to be and you know you can't come up with an excuse good enough to weasel out of it. Bring Austin. It'll be fun!"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Fun? Do you hear yourself telling me it'll be _fun_? I'm not the biggest fan of having dinner with a total stranger. Nor am I a big fan of the idea of being in the same room …" She let her words trail off thinking Ashley wouldn't catch onto her most recent thought.

"With Zac?" Ashley's tone became more serious as she noted Vanessa's silence. "Is that what you were going to say, Vanessa?"

Again the line was silent for a moment.

"Yeah," Vanessa admitted quietly.

"I thought Corbin said you were okay with that," Vanessa's blonde friend switched her phone to the other ear as she worked to progress the conversation.

"I don't know, Ash. The more I think about it, the more…I don't know…the more scared I am? I mean, just think… All of us back together, then add some fans into the mix. It's hugs and pictures and all '_where do you think Troy and Gabi would be now? Will you guys ever make another HSM?'_ kind of conversations." Vanessa couldn't express what her heart was trying to convey.

"So?" Ashley responded with little understanding.

"So," Vanessa sighed and put a hand over her eyes. "I don't know if I can do that. I'm scared that old feelings will start to brew again and my heart is just now getting over the first round."

"But if Austin's there with you..." Ashley tried.

"Then there's a whole other can of worms to get opened," Vanessa quickly added. "I still care, Ashley. Don't think I don't. I can't lie about that. But I have fallen in love with Austin and I don't want to reopen old wounds for me or him…Zac, I mean," she struggled to say his name.

"Come on, though, Nessa. We're all adults now. Don't you think it would be a great time for us to try and show Zac that we all still care. I think supporting him and each other would give us all a little boost. Here we are, five years later, and we can still come together as friends – family, practically." Ashley's voice was more like the caring big sister that Vanessa had turned to on more than one occasion. She was the same big sister who had also been there for Zac. The older, fun-loving, woman had been a common ground for the two young lovebirds, a sounding board and most of all a friend.

"I want to see you and Mo, and Lucas. I haven't seen him in ages. Will Mo invite Kenny, or Chucky? When is she talking about doing this and where? How many outsiders is she talking about?" Vanessa's thoughts and attitude changed easily which put a smile back onto Ashley's face. Still, the older sibling of sorts delved back into the rough subject.

"Wouldn't you like to see Zac, too? He's been through a lot, Nessa. Wouldn't it be good to see him so you could _know_ he's doing okay?"

The line between the two women was silent other than the breaths each was taking. Ashley resolved to say nothing more, knowing it was a decision Vanessa had to make. And after another moment the dark-haired woman whose heart was still somewhat torn, made the call.

"I'm in."

**Rehab Chapter 3**


	4. Healing

**A/N: Don't you just wonder, sometimes, what happens to the friendships and the loves that are in the past? I do believe that God puts people in our lives at times when we need them. That doesn't mean that they'll always be there. But, I like to believe that if you need that same person again, God will bring them back into your life, if possible. Maybe not in the same role as the first time, but perhaps the next time is even more important. **

**Thank you all for your reviews and pm's! I appreciate every one of them! Some have left 'Guest' reviews and I'm so glad you've taken the time to share your feelings and opinions! I would love to send you each a personal 'thank you' but that isn't an option on the guest reviews. So please know that I love reading your thoughts! MY ;) readers feed my addiction and fuel my imagination.**

**Once again, I own nothing of these characters, nor HSM, other than tubs of trinkets and memorabilia! I'm grateful for the opportunity to give them this fictional life, from the mind of a still 'crazed fan'!**

**Thank You & KTZLF!  
adc**

* * *

**Scenarios: Rehab - Chapter 4 - Healing  
**

The sounding ringtone startled Vanessa enough to wake her. The voice on the other end was enough to make her sit up in bed. "He what?" She breathed a bit heavily and ran a hand over her eyes. "Is he okay?"

She listened as well as she could at 2 AM on an early weekday morning even as she was transported back a number of years to another late night emergency call.

"No, Corbin, I'm not coming to the hospital." The conversation stalled other than a whining that sounded like her name coming from her friend on the other side.

However, when she ended the call, she woke up a bit further as Corbin's words settled in. _Why again was he calling her? Why was Zac at the hospital? What did he say about a fall and a broken bone?_

Vanessa sat up farther and looked at the clock on the opposite side of the bed. "What in the world?" She looked at the phone that now sat in her lap and pressed the buttons until her call log popped up on the screen. Sure enough, there was Corbin's number at the top of the list, right above Austin's, whom she had talked to before going to bed.

She took a deep breath and hit redial.

"_Nessa? Did you change your mind? We're at the e.r. at Cedars Sinai."_

"Who's we?" Vanessa's sleepy voice was a bit raspy with the late – or early – hour.

"_Me and Adam. David called us from San Luis after the e.r. folks called them," _Corbin answered calmly.

Vanessa looked down at the comforter on her bed. She couldn't help but think, the last time Zac went to the e.r., she got the scary call. The memory of her ex-boyfriend's appendicitis made her shiver. She hadn't cried until she got to the hospital and learned the seriousness of the situation. This time she was getting _a _call, not _the _call. She took a deep breath.

"What happened?" Her voice was quiet as she asked.

"_He apparently fell and hit his chin or his face on a counter. I don't have all the details. It's been like pulling teeth down here to get any information. I understand the confidentiality, but we are here as family members practically and can't get a straight_ _answer,"_ Corbin huffed to let Vanessa hear his frustration.

"You'll just have to hang in there Corbin. If they're doing tests and stuff they probably _can't_ tell you anything for sure. It's better for them to take their time and know what's going on before they talk to you. It's okay," she worked to calm down her worried friend.

She listened as Corbin agreed with her and requested her presence again.

"_V, you've kinda been through this before. Can't you come down here with us, please? You know more about Z-man than either of us do and it'll be hours before David or his mom can get here. I'm worried that I'm going to tell them something wrong and screw something up. Please?"_ The fear in Corbin's voice was nearly enough to convince her.

"Corbin, I… How serious does it appear to be?" She sighed.

"_I guess maybe it's dental issues? They said something about a broken jaw and having to set the bone and then do something to his mouth. I'm just not sure." _Corbin quieted after that to let Vanessa think about his request.

She shook her head as she looked outside toward the streetlight not far from her home. Vanessa sighed, tired and slightly frustrated and unwilling but needing to ask her next question. "Was he drunk…or high?" Her voice took on a tone of indifference that Corbin knew was reserved for situations that she didn't particularly want to discuss.

"_Neither,"_ Corbin answered directly. _"Unless the Kool-Aid in his fridge was spiked inside the pouches, he was clean as a whistle."_

"Corbin, don't lie just to get me down there," Vanessa accused.

"_I'm not, V. I'm serious. Zac's been on a good path since he got out of rehab. Things are going well. I've talked to him several times and he's getting his act back together."_ Corbin offered the information to test her emotions and attitude.

"I figured after he turned down Mo's invitation to the reunion that he'd turn right back into the crap," she sighed again. "Figures, just when I get my head wrapped around the idea of seeing him again he comes up with a mysterious promo tour to keep him away from all of us."

"_So, wait, now you're mad that he's not going to be there? I thought you were relieved about that," _Corbin pressed.

"I don't know how I feel about it, Corbin, okay? It's two in the morning, you're calling to tell me Zac's hurt and I'm just trying to decide what I'm supposed to do _and_ how I feel." Her voice raised with frustration, partly because she was torn emotionally and didn't _want_ to feel anything about this situation.

Corbin shook his head and let out a slight huff, not prepared to deal with Vanessa's confusion. _"I'm sorry I called. Just forget it," _he started to end the call.

"Wait! Corbin, hang on a second," Vanessa insisted.

"_What?"_ he wondered, now just wanting to get off the phone and hear from a doctor.

"They should have his medical records on file, um, if you're at Cedars Sinai," Vanessa thought out loud with her tired brain. "That's where he was with the appendicitis stuff, you know?"

"_Okay,"_ Corbin hesitated another second.

"And if they say anything about surgery, he's allergic to sulfa drugs. Makes him break out in hives all over. Sounds like he doesn't need that right now," she somewhat mumbled the last line.

"_No, what he needs now is you," _Corbin countered. _"I'll talk to you later."_

Vanessa thought again about the situation and whether or not she should be there at the hospital with Corbin and Zac's other friend. Her heart melted slightly as she imagined her sandy-haired friend, hurt in some way and potentially needing her help. She bit down firmly on her bottom lip. "Yeah, let me know what happens… please."

**RehabChapter4**

With no additional call from Corbin or anyone else Vanessa waited until nearly noon before letting her fidgeting worry get the best of her. She picked up the phone and called the other person who might just know what had happened.

"_Hello?"_ The voice wasn't as chirpy or perky as normal

"Hey, Ash, it's Nessa," Vanessa started hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

"_Hey Nessie, yeah, I'm fine, just kind of an early morning," _Ashley explained.

"Oh, sorry," Vanessa apologized. "Are you in a meeting? I can call back later," she paused.

"_Oh, no, I just…Corbin needed some help this morning," _she picked her words carefully.

"With – with Zac?" Vanessa's heart fell slightly in her chest.

"_Well, yeah," _Ashley admitted. _"They gave him some pretty strict orders for the next few days at least. Wait, how did you know – oh, yeah, Corbin said he called you earlier…" _her blonde, scattered brain clicked in.

"What…did they say?" Vanessa wondered quietly, giving Ashley the hint that this was exactly why she was calling.

"_He's got a fractured jaw. They wired his mouth shut. Can you imagine him playing Xbox without being able to talk? Insane man…" _Ashley commented with a chuckle.

"Ash," Vanessa admonished slightly, "Seriously, is he okay?"

She heard her friend push a quick breath out her nose and waited for an answer.

"What happened?" Vanessa pressed.

"_He had spilled something in the kitchen floor, a drink or something that had ice in it. He thought he had cleaned it all up, but apparently a couple of the ice cubes were left on the floor and melted. He was walking back through a little later on and slipped on the puddle of water. He tried to catch himself going down but his hand slipped off the counter and his chin hit the edge of it. Banged it hard enough that he fractured his jaw bone. Lunatic drove himself to the hospital and had the e.r. staff call his dad. Then David called Corbin and Adam, I guess, and they went over to the hospital," _Ashley finally took a breath and sighed. "_When I saw him this morning he was in a lot of pain and he's trying his best to stick to ibuprofen. They gave him something stronger in the hospital but once that wore off he didn't want us to get the prescription filled…didn't even want it in the house."_

"But if he needs it…" Vanessa's eyebrows knit together as she thought about his pain tolerance and the underlying reason why he didn't want something addictive yet helpful in his home.

"_He's waiting for David or Starla to get down here. He just wants somebody there to help monitor what he's taking to make sure…to keep him accountable I guess." _Ashley took a deeper breath.

"Yeah," Vanessa responded. She walked to her kitchen table and sat down gently before looking over at a picture of herself and Austin from a recent event they had attended. She blinked a couple of times and waited for more from her friend.

When Ashley didn't say anything for another moment, Vanessa started again. "Can he eat?" She wondered honestly.

"_Through a straw for a few weeks," _Ashley answered. _"The blender will be his friend. Although right now he's in enough pain that he doesn't want to eat, drink or anything."_

Vanessa sniffled slightly over the phone line. She had seen Zac in pain and held him through it. She had measured out medicine when he had a cold and brought him his pills when he was recovering from his appendectomy. She had wrapped her arms around him in the middle of the night and held him close until he fell asleep. And, she had kissed his pains and his forehead and his lips to try and take his attention off the hurt.

This time, however, she was a few miles away and he was out of reach.

"_Nessa? Ness? Va-nessa?!" _Ashley's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Yeah?" Vanessa answered barely.

"_Go over to see him,"_ Ashley instructed.

"I can't," Vanessa responded.

"_You can't let him know that you still care?"_

Vanessa sniffled again.

"_Or you can't let him know that you still love him so much that you're hurting for him?"_

The two women were silent except for the random background noises in their homes. Vanessa couldn't deny either of the statements that Ashley had made, except for the two reasons that kept her from giving into those thoughts.

A – The other man in her life had a firm grasp on much of her heart. And B – The thought of a world potentially empowered by drugs and alcohol scared her deeply; so deeply that she couldn't even bring herself to visit the injured man that she had once loved more than her own life.

**RehabChapter4**

Zac's phone buzzed beside him on the couch. He rolled his eyes and groaned because the act of moving any part of his body caused his head to move and that brought about pain.

He blinked and glanced at the phone. He couldn't see the screen clearly from his sideways, peripheral view but he thought the number looked familiar. He leaned his whole body toward the device and turned his head just slightly, catching sight of the miniature picture of the dark haired woman beside the calling number.

He knew why she was texting him. Corbin had told him that he had called her while they were at the e.r. two days ago. If Zac had been in any condition to strangle their friend at that moment in time, he would've. Instead he had just slouched his shoulders and ducked his sore head.

Still, he was slightly surprised that she was reaching out to him, even if it was just a few words on an iPhone screen.

He moved his hand slowly over to retrieve the electronic. Zac held it in his lap as he slid one finger across the screen to see what Vanessa was sending him.

"_I know you r in pain. I'm sry. R u ok?"_

Pain - Zac thought about the word. Yes, he was in pain. His head hurt, his jaw was pulsing with the ache of the broken bone. His body muscles were sore from being slightly poked and prodded in the emergency room. But the worst pain, at that moment, came from his heart that suddenly wanted more from her than a text message expressing her sympathy.

He looked at the message again. He had had no contact with her in months, probably closer to a year. He did his best not to read anything into the fact that she contacted him. His injury was to blame and nothing more. So he took a deep breath and read through her texting shorthand note one more time.

When he started slowly typing a response he caught the first thing that immediately came from his fingers. _"ILY"_ He stared at the letters and blinked. Was he really going to send that to her? He could. He could chalk the abbreviated 'I Love You' up to pain medicines even though he hadn't taken any.

His thumb moved over the letters before hitting 'backspace' to start over again. His mind began racing like a snail with thoughts of what he could tell her. The first ideas ranged from _"I need you" _to _"please come help me" _to _"I don't need your help, leave me alone"._ Zac felt his jaw tense at the last idea and a wave of pain moved from the damaged area down through his body.

"_I m fine."_ He settled on the simple answer that would hopefully pacify his ex-girlfriend.

Before he could move the device from his lap it buzzed again. _"I'm here."_

He looked at the words, not fully understanding their meaning and unsure of what she might want him to say. (Insert phone buzz number three, here.)

"_I just need to c u. R the codes the same?"_

Zac groaned through his immobilized mouth. His entire body tensed and then suddenly his muscles relaxed. Vanessa wanted to see him. Again he couldn't read too much into the typed message. But, it was the largest nugget of hope that he had received since his rehab director had promised him he could survive without the drugs.

"_Yes" _he replied simply. His security gate code hadn't and wouldn't change from the numbers that represented their anniversary date. He was pleased she hadn't forgotten. And to get into his house? Her birthday numbers sufficed. That, he was sure she wouldn't forget.

When he heard the faint beeping from the security box in his utility room his lips stretched into a painful smile. The butterflies flitted in his stomach and tears blurred his eyes. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but the idea of physically seeing Vanessa and just having her near, was enough to make his heart pump a little stronger than it had in over two years.

**RehabChapter 4**

Zac pulled the blanket off his lap and slowly stood up from the couch. He heard the garage door opening which meant in the next few moments Vanessa would be coming through the door of his home.

He grimaced and took a deep breath before walking gingerly toward the kitchen and waiting, unsure of where to put his hands or how to stand. He chose to cross his arms loosely over his chest and fixed his eyes on the door between the back of the kitchen and his laundry room which offered a door into the garage.

When the next door opened he heard a clank of a dish and the rustle of a bag. He wanted to rush over to help her carry whatever she was bringing in, but he also knew she would likely yell at him for even being off the couch in his current condition.

Vanessa adjusted her hands on the crockpot to keep a good grip and twisted her ankle behind her to close the door with her foot. She took a deep breath willing herself to keep going with this gesture that was meant to break the ice and soothe an open wound that might never completely heal.

She was watching the floor, taking careful steps into the kitchen when she heard his movement. She stopped in her tracks, holding her breath and looked straight ahead into blue eyes that had darkened over the past twenty four months, but were still as beautiful as she had ever seen.

Zac stood still as she took in his face. The bruising there showed mainly near his neck, where the underside of his chin had struck the counter. He could tell exactly when she noticed that part of his injury. She sucked in the breath she was holding and parted her lips in a silent 'ouch'. Still, Vanessa stood a room away from him, holding dishes and a cloth bag of grocery items.

When her eyes came back to his, both stood still. It was his opportunity, too, to soak in her appearance. So many emotions, so many words, so much passed between them in that moment that neither knew of anything that could be said or done, other than just standing and staring. But after a few minutes Vanessa found her voice and raised up the clay and aluminum item in her hand.

"Soup… I thought I would make some soup, if you're hungry, that is." Her words were practically a whisper that Zac could have heard from across the Pacific because she was speaking them to him.

He nodded slightly with a blink of his eyes that told her the movement hurt. Vanessa brushed past him and sat the crockpot on his flat top stove before turning to put the bag on the counter where Zac was leaning.

"Go," she pointed toward the living room. "You go sit, rest, I'll get this started and then come check on you, ok?" She smiled at him slightly causing the light sheen of tears to blur his vision again.

"Ok," he forced through his gritted teeth. And following another wince of pain he turned to follow her instructions.

But before he could get too far, Vanessa stepped around the counter to meet him. The two sets of eyes met again. This time he could see the tears in her eyes as well. He held his hand out toward her, waiting for her to give him whatever indication she wanted.

Vanessa looked first at his outstretched hand and then grasped it with both of hers. She swallowed a bit roughly as she looked at his hand in hers and then glanced back at his purple bruise, then into his eyes. "I do still care," she spoke again in the emotional whisper of a voice that wouldn't allow her to make a sound any louder.

Zac put his fingertips to his chin and then pulled them down, arching his hand backwards with one of the few bits of sign language that he knew. _"Thank you."_

**RehabChapter4**

Zac stretched out on the couch and pulled a blanket over his chest. He put his phone on the floor beside him and closed his eyes. For the first time in forever he felt relaxed. Yes, he physically still hurt but the tension in his muscles gave way to something he hadn't felt in a long time – contentment.

He listened to the rustling sound in the kitchen. Behind his closed eyelids he could envision the beautiful woman in his kitchen preparing a meal. The slight banging of dishes, the sound of his electric can opener, a knife being pulled from the wooden cutlery block, were all sounds he had heard and was familiar with. But just knowing it was _her_ in the next room made him take a deep breath and hold it, then breath out a sigh of normalcy. He knew he couldn't expect it to last, but even if just for an hour or so, he would accept and enjoy her company, hopefully.

"Damn it," he heard the expletive in a whispered voice but knew exactly what problem she had encountered. Should he get up to help her reach whatever she needed from the shelf over the stove? _No_, he had been told to lie down and rest so he would follow instructions, unless …

"Zac?"

He opened his eyes to the sound of his name and shifted to see her peeking around the corner of the living room in his direction. He raised his eyebrows and grunted to acknowledge her.

"Black pepper?" She smiled sheepishly. "Is it still above the stove…where I can't reach it?"

He tried not to laugh but couldn't help but smile. "Yeshhh," he spoke, barely opening his lips to make the sound. He started to uncover but she stopped him.

"No, don't get up. I just…I didn't see the step-stool," she smiled again causing them both to remember the device that hid next to the refrigerator for Vanessa's use when she needed something on a taller shelf.

Zac shrugged and started to speak again but winced when he couldn't easily form the words. He pointed toward the laundry room area and then paused, not knowing how to tell her what she needed to know.

After a frustrating few moments of deep breaths, sighs and thinking, Zac picked up his phone and held it in the air. After flashing the screen toward her he turned it toward himself and began typing. A slight slurp from his injured mouth cued Vanessa to the fact that he was concentrating on his typing skills.

He soon pushed the phone toward her, making Vanessa step closer to him to look at it. _"Garage, leaning on the shelves over by the rake and shovel and stuff."_

She read the words, took the phone from his hand and then began typing a response. After putting a few letters on the screen she stopped and raised her eyes to look at the man on the couch. He was staring at her, smiling slightly with his lips and waiting patiently. She blinked a couple of times and then handed the phone back to him.

"I don't need to _type _a reply to that text, do I?" Her deadpan voice gave away the fact that she had caught herself before doing something silly. Zac shrugged one shoulder at her and let wink from his right eye tell her that he was amused by her near faux-pas.

He swallowed and reached up to take the phone from her but also grasped her fingers lightly, asking her to hold on for just a few seconds. Vanessa waited, watching as he took the phone and began typing something else.

"_I'm sorry." _ The first words were simple. _"I miss you. I miss us. I know…you and Austin… but just so you know, I really do miss you."_

Vanessa read the words when he handed the device to her. She took a deep breath and held it, just staring at the screen. She was never able to withhold her emotions around Zac. Happiness, love, anger, sadness; something about him forced the various phases of her feelings to show through, loud and clear. This time her tapping foot was Zac's first clue and the tears that followed weren't a surprise. Still Zac kept his place on the couch, watching her without a sound.

He held his hand out, requesting his mode of communication. So before she could say anything he took it back to continue his electronic side of the conversation. _"I'm surprised to see you! I can't believe you're here. I know it's the jaw thing. But please… I swear I don't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry if the last thing did that. It's just…I'm in shock and I'm grateful and I'm thrilled that you're here, okay?"_

Zac typed as quickly as he could and hoped there were no mistakes when he showed her his thoughts. Vanessa wiped her eyes as she read the new message and nodded her head with a bit of a sniffle.

"Okay," she said quietly. "I…let me just get the soup started. Can you eat soup? It's just tomato, nothing fancy," she questioned as an afterthought.

Zac nodded at her and blinked his eyes softly. _"Sounds great!" _ He typed and took the chance to touch her hand again as they exchanged the phone back and forth.

"Okay, step stool then soup," she spoke on a sigh before going back to work. She heard Zac sigh as well. Taking a few steps through his house, hearing the words he had typed, _"I miss us,"_ and just being in his presence again, Vanessa wondered if she was making the right call.

Then she reminded herself that she was helping a friend in need. If it were Corbin, or Ashley or anyone in her circle of friends she would do this. And, for Zac, in particular, she had made every excuse to avoid him. Now was the time to end that practice. Now was the time and his injury was the excuse for two friends to see each other again and fulfill a decade old promise to never let go.

That thread had nearly worn thin and broken, but the chat with Ashley, from days before, had struck a chord with Vanessa. She did still care for Zac. She was heartbroken and upset with herself for not reaching out to him sooner. So this was the chance and she was determined to take it. They needed each others' friendship, and that afternoon was the perfect opportunity to make sure he knew that.

**RehabChapter4**


	5. Just Because

**Thank you everyone for your reviews and PM's! You've brought smiles to my face and really made me think about a couple of things in the Zanessa world. This is the last chapter of Rehab...for now. I can't quite call it complete because I feel like there's more to this story. Perhaps, when the HSM Reunion happens then I can continue this story or have a sequel to it. :)**

**Thanks again and KTZLF! -adc**

* * *

**Rehab Chapter 5**

Vanessa turned the crockpot dial to low. She had mixed the simple ingredients silently, wondering if Zac had fallen asleep in the living room or if he would attempt to get up and help. She decided to peek into the adjoining room before starting to clean up the minimal mess she had made.

Her first thought was correct. The man on the couch appeared to be asleep, comfortable, with a blanket spread over his bare toes all the way up to his chest. His fingers were spread slightly at the top edge of the covering, holding it closer to his body.

Vanessa smiled. She leaned against the wall and just looked over his hands, wrists, muscles that were protruding from under his t-shirt and his face. She cringed once more at the sight of the injured area and then relaxed as he took a somewhat deep, cleansing breath without a hint of pain.

She noticed the 'YOLO' tattoo on his right hand and shook her head. She remembered him using that phrase, 'You Only Live Once' before his bungee jumping escapade in Canada. _She_ had used it before jumping out of a plane with some friends. Then, in the back of her mind she had another flashback to a moment that came just before she and Zac separated.

_The two sat at dinner discussing, yet again, their schedules that wouldn't mesh and why now would be a good time for them to take a break from one another. The hurt and anger and questions and confusion continued to swirl in their minds. _

"_You only love once," Zac had reacted to Vanessa's mention of other people in the world and the things they were likely to experience. _

In the moment she thought he had again said 'live', not 'love'. But at this new point, she realized more clearly what he meant. And the tattoo on his hand represented that sentiment.

The love they had, had been borne of friendship and nurtured to maturity, somewhat. The problem was, they weren't mature enough at the time to see that, and the outside pressures finally took over.

Vanessa stared for a moment. With just a momentary thought of her current boyfriend she let her mind wander. _Was Zac correct? Through his drug and alcohol abuse, his rehab, his work and a re-dedication to his life…did he still love HER? More importantly, was she still in love with him?_

She took a deep breath as her eyes became wide and she stared directly at his sleeping form. She felt the shiver run up her spine and she shook. Her mouth became dry and she found herself fidgeting with her own fingers as the thoughts rumbled in her mind.

"Is this why I've avoided seeing you?" She whispered the question with the hope that he was truly asleep. "Is it because _you only **love** once_…and we both know I've loved you?" She blinked and then closed her eyes.

The smell of the cooking tomato juice and spices began to fill the air. Usually the comforts of home would make Vanessa relax, no matter where she actually was. Yet in that moment she began to think of a hundred other things that would be required to make that happen now. Surprisingly, running away from the situation was at the bottom of the list. The other surprise? Being held in Zac's arms again was suddenly at the very top.

**Rehab 5**

"Nessha?" She felt the hands on her shoulders gripping slightly as her name registered in her brain over the myriad of other thoughts. Vanessa focused her eyes on the sight of Zac looking at her…and holding her.

She blinked and looked past him before letting her eyes slowly come back to his.

"Are you okay?" His question wasn't hard to understand through his wired mouth but Vanessa could tell it was hard for him to say.

She nodded quickly but shallowly. "I thought you were asleep," she looked down toward the carpet and ran a toe through the plush material.

Zac shrugged his shoulders, trying to avoid a more verbal response.

He stepped to the kitchen counter where a pen and paper were handy. Vanessa followed him and leaned her hip against the edge of the bar while he wrote quickly. When he directed the paper toward her she took it slowly, watching his face more than his scribbled words.

Zac tapped on the paper to point her attention toward his writing. _"I'm not sure what to say to you. You're making dinner for me, thank you. But you don't have to stay. I'm okay by myself."_

Vanessa read his words and her shoulders slouched. "Do you want me to leave?" She asked, slightly surprised. "Am I making you _that_ uncomfortable, being here?" She wondered with a tinge of hurt.

Zac pulled the pad from her hands and shook his head. _"No," _he wrote hurriedly, _"Opposite," _he added. _"Having you here with me feels right."_

He turned his body and stood so Vanessa could read his words as he wrote them. Their bodies touched slightly as she leaned forward to see the letters on the page. Zac looked down at her as she read his feelings. "Perfectly right," he vocalized.

Vanessa stepped back just to put an inch between them. "Do you want to leave?" Zac asked slowly.

"No," Vanessa answered without a thought. "Yes?" She second-guessed her first reaction. "I'm not sure what I want right now," she began with a sigh. She watched Zac turn to the table and pull out a chair. He held it out and pointed at it, instructing Vanessa to have a seat.

Once she obliged he moved around the table, offering her some space, and then sat down as well. He leaned his forearms on the table and turned his palms upward. With another shrug of his shoulders he willed her to talk to him.

"I don't even know where to start," she spoke softly and looked at his hands. "I've wondered a lot about how you were doing. I don't like reading updates in the rag mags. I _thought,_ with all the movie work, that we were running along the same path. I mean, I figured we were both working and without me around trying to occupy your free time…" she nitched one shoulder upwards and added an unhappy smile to her facial expression.

Zac tried hard not to roll his eyes but did put a finger in the air to keep her from taking that thought further.

"And then, when I heard from a couple of people about your partying I got mad. When I first heard about the drugs…" Her voice trailed off but Zac could see the storm rising in her eyes.

He saw the brown eyes darken and her lips pressing together. He rolled his hand in front of him; the simple production cue telling her to keep going.

"What were you thinking?" Vanessa's voice deepend slightly. "I can't sit here and lecture you…but Zac? Heroin? Coke? And alcohol? What the hell?" Her eyebrows creased as she watched him breathe in and out slowly, knowing he had probably heard this reaction over and over again already.

Zac blinked. "It was something to do," he forced through his lips.

Vanessa couldn't tell if his jaw was tensed or if that was just a result of his injury. She figured her words would cut into him a bit but this was the opportunity she had to voice her concerns.

"As were the _women_, I suppose?" Vanessa questioned, earning a tilted head and less- than-comforting blue eyes burning in her direction.

She closed her eyes after that statement and sucked in a breath. She let it out slowly, calming herself and hopefully giving Zac a chance to also settle his nerves.

"I just don't understand, Zac," she put a hand to her cheek and let her mind wander back to the various feelings she had gone through over the past year or so. "Why would you turn to _them_ and the drugs? You are at the top of every project list. Every director wants you. Every script writer hopes you'll pick up their story to produce. So, why?"

Zac shook his head. He had no good reason except that it all took his mind off of Vanessa.

"I screwed up," he pushed through his lips. "You found Austin…I hurt." He couldn't think of other words to tell her besides that.

"Do you blame _me_?" Vanessa set her own jaw, daring him to say 'yes'.

Zac shook his head, the answer, obviously 'no'. He scrunched his shoulders. "Maybe at first…when I was drinking more," he began to slur his words thanks to the slight movement and pain in his jaw. "But not now," he finished.

The two sat quietly for a few minutes, Vanessa thinking and Zac resting. He swallowed roughly and then caught her attention, "You were my world, Nessa. I messed up and my world caved in. I'm working things out…now…with help. Please know I'm trying." He formed the words carefully.

Vanessa leaned back in her chair and looked at him and the earnest look on his face. She could tell he had been through hell and survived. Was that partly her fault? Maybe. But they were choices that couldn't be changed, now. The circumstances that led to their breakup and both of them moving on were in the past and couldn't be altered.

"Are you in counseling?" Vanessa shifted the focus of their conversation slightly.

Zac nodded, "AA," he mentioned the alcoholics meetings that had already brought him farther than he expected.

Vanessa raised her head up and down in understanding. "And for the drug abuse?"

Zac moved his head gingerly from side to side and pointed at his refrigerator. She had noticed the red magnet on the side with bold black and yellow print. "Hotline," Zac said before pulling his phone out and scrolling through his contact list. "Sponsor's on speed dial," he added.

Vanessa nodded again, slowly, before the timer on the stove began beeping. Both of them jumped slightly at the sound. Vanessa left her seat quickly to tend to the soup that needed stirring and to stop the blaring clock.

Zac stayed in his chair, watching her, wondering about the words she had said when she thought he was asleep. He ran his index finger over the ink on his hand. He couldn't honestly answer her question. Why had he gotten those particular letters in that particular place on his body? He didn't honestly know. He sucked in a deep breath and stared at the table. That had been one of _those_ nights…that he unfortunately couldn't remember.

After stirring the soup and opening the cabinet to grab some bowls, Vanessa turned back toward the man at the table. She leaned against the lower cabinetry and placed her hands on the countertop at each side of her hips.

"Mo-mo tells me you can't make this reunion thing that she's putting together," Vanessa stopped, unsure of what else she wanted to say.

Zac nodded slightly, still lost in his previous thoughts but still listening for whatever Vanessa might say.

Vanessa raised her shoulders and took a deep breath. "Why not?"

Zac glanced from the table top directly into her face without moving his head. She looked like the teenager he had met nearly a decade before with her dark hair hanging over her shoulders, brown eyes questioning his thoughts and intentions with just an innocent blink of her long eyelashes.

He debated how to answer. _Promo tour_ had been his official response to Monique, although she had given him a much-deserved "Pshhh" in return. It wasn't a lie. If he asked his managing team to send him on a promo tour, he could be in New York on any number of late night talk shows, for any number of reasons within twelve to twenty-four hours.

No, it wasn't a lie. But, it was an excuse.

The last few months of his relationship with Vanessa had been filled with excuses. He lost his breath with that thought and had to look away from her face, back at his hands that were still clasped together on top of the table.

"I'll send a message," he spoke slowly, trying to enunciate. "I'll do a video; whatever Mo wants. I just can't go, Van."

Vanessa pressed her lips together. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't make you talk." She was pleased he hadn't tried to give her the same message. All of them knew his answer hadn't been completely true. But, she had expected him to give her the same story. With the words he spoke, she knew there was a much deeper meaning to his absence.

"It's fine," Zac responded to her. "It doesn't hurt that much," he lied.

Vanessa shook her head. "Liar," she called his bluff. "Ash said you won't take your pain killers that they prescribed. Is that true?"

Zac nodded. "Can't take the chance," his answer was short and precise.

"So you really are working to be drug free and alcohol free?" Vanessa asked with a slight lift of her chin.

Zac agreed with her.

"What made you get help?" She wondered honestly.

"Dylan…" he spoke the name softly and again found Vanessa's eyes.

Zac noted how the brown softened at the mention of his brother.

"Were you scared he'd find out?" She knit her eyebrows together then pushed as gently as she could.

Zac shook his head, "He picked me up off the floor one too many times."

Vanessa watched as Zac pressed his lips together and tears formed in his eyes. "That's when I realized I wasn't just hurting me," he stated.

The thought of Zac's younger brother playing the role of a responsible adult wasn't as amusing as Vanessa and Zac had once joked. In this case it hit her in a nearly opposite thought. She wondered how her own younger sister would react if the tables were turned. And for a suspended moment in time Vanessa felt herself in Zac's shoes; understanding how Dylan or Stella's pain might just make them face reality.

She realized after another moment that the tip of her thumbnail was in her mouth and Zac was again coming toward her. And this time she didn't turn away or take a step to avoid his embrace. This time she let him put his arms around her and pull her to his chest as both of them finally allowed tears to flow.

Zac noticed that she leaned against him but didn't put her arms around him. He knew exactly why but still wasn't willing to let go of their hug quickly. And, she wasn't pulling away. In that moment he would accept the tears and the somewhat one-sided embrace as a good sign; and a reason to continue his rehabilitation.

He breathed in, in order to tell her something else. In the process he caught a whiff of her shampoo and perfume and had to remind himself of the reason she was at his home. "Not a promo tour," he began.

With his words, Vanessa placed her hands against his biceps and gently pushed to loosen his hold on her. "What?" She asked him hesitantly to repeat himself.

"You know it's not a promo tour. That's not why I can't be there, right?" His words slurred more with his discomfort.

Vanessa nodded and licked her lips with the tip of her tongue. "Not that it matters," she started, "and I'm not here to try and change your mind. Please know that's not why I'm here. But, Austin and I have decided that he won't be there with me." She lifted her head only slightly to see the reaction in his face.

Zac wasn't smiling, his features hardened slightly but not to a point of anger. "Why not?" He finally asked.

Vanessa pulled back a bit more, slipping out of his grasp yet working hard to keep herself at ease. "Well, just knowing a complete stranger will be in the mix…there's no need to make them uncomfortable…" she tilted her head with an attempt to explain.

"Them?" Zac's eyebrows creased slightly, calling her out on the excuse she was making.

"It's an HSM group, Zac. We all know what the fans expect," she countered.

"Another reason for me to skip it," he tried to answer without the malice in his voice. "You would be tense with me there. I'd be tense. That's not what Mo wants for this event. She deserves better. Plus it'll be one of those girly, squeal and laugh and cry kind of parties." He shivered slightly at his last thought before feeling the slight sting of a hand against his chest.

"Ouch," he grimaced but smiled at the face Vanessa was making.

"It will not be a girly squeal-fest," she admonished him. "Corbin and Lucas will be there, among other men."

Zac rolled his eyes at her counter-attack. "Right…they'll just make it worse."

Vanessa had to laugh at that thought before rolling her own eyes and agreeing. "You're probably right. Corbin…Ashley…Lucas… all in the same room…"

"And Mo thinks she's gonna get a web show out of that? I'll watch it for the bloopers, maybe…" Zac let out a laugh and then cringed as his jaw's movement struck a painful nerve.

Vanessa noticed right away and grabbed his hands to give him a bit of moral and physical support.

"C'mon, sit. Zac, you need to take something for the pain. Ibuprofen? Tylenol? What do you have?"

Zac shook his head but knew she was right.

"Tylenol, with codeine," he whispered through his teeth. "Corbin got it filled for me. I've only taken one dose a day."

Vanessa nodded and held his hand until he was back at the table and sitting in a chair. "You don't have to explain to me. It's alright. Believe me, I know you need it. I'll get it. Where is it?"

She held up a finger instructing Zac not to speak. Instead she reached for the pen and paper again and put it in front of him. _"Master Bath"_ was written on the notepad. Vanessa nodded, "Okay," she answered before instinctively heading toward that room of his house.

**Rehab5**

Vanessa noted the change in his bedroom when she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The walls that had once been adorned with pictures of them as a couple were now relatively plain. He had repainted. Navy blue walls were topped with a lighter bluish-gray border and white trim around the window and baseboards.

The pictures on his wall were his family. Vanessa looked at the single 8x10 print that was framed prominently. The Efron foursome smiled widely, enjoying the moment of being together. She had to smile to herself as she wondered when the picture had been taken. Vanessa gently touched Dylan's face in the picture. "You're a good brother," she spoke softly knowing she wouldn't likely have a chance in the near future to admit that to Zac's younger sibling.

She turned her focus to the king-sized bed stationed against the adjacent wall. She couldn't help but feel a bit nosy when she spotted a small, wallet-sized frame sitting on the bedside table beside another 3x5 picture. Vanessa tilted her head slightly, not completely recognizing the girls in the pictures from a distance. When her curiosity took over she stepped closer to the unmade bed in order to get a clear view.

Just as she convinced herself that perhaps the smallest picture was a new love interest, she realized it was her own face in the photo. She wasn't quite sure how to react to that. It was a picture she had given to him soon after they met, which meant it was a teenage Vanessa in the small, ornate frame.

She was struck, first of all, that he still had that picture which had lived in his wallet for over a year when they began dating. Secondly she was taken aback that he still had a picture of her beside his bed. She sat down on the mussed-up comforter and stared at it.

In the next moment she looked at the other picture. It showed Zac with a young Asian woman, standing side by side, both holding up what looked like gambling chips. She studied it a little more closely than she had her own image.

They appeared to be in a classroom. They weren't holding hands, hugging, or kissing. The two just stood shoulder to shoulder, holding up the round, coin-like discs.

"That's Kaiya," the familiar voice came from behind her.

Vanessa jerked slightly at the sound. She glanced behind her to see Zac leaning against the foot of his bed, watching her. She looked quickly back at both of the pictures she was holding.

"You're supposed to be downstairs," she spoke without looking at him.

"You're supposed to be getting my Tylenol," he countered gently.

Vanessa turned and looked at him. "Kaiya…that's a pretty name."

Zac nodded. "She's an inspiration," he spoke and then turned to go into his bathroom to retrieve his medicine bottle himself.

"Oh," Vanessa whispered and watched as he first walked away from her and then returned and sat down next to her.

Zac gently took the larger photo from her hands and looked at it. "Her story, the reason she turned to drugs…" he shook his head, "it made me realize that I have no reason at all. Every excuse I could make can't hold a candle to what she's been through."

"She's a recovering addict?" Vanessa questioned and Zac nodded as strongly as he could.

"If she can do it, I can do it," Zac spoke and ran his finger lightly over their faces.

"Why this one?" Vanessa turned the other frame toward him and caught his blushing cheeks before he looked away from her.

"Because," Zac stated then looked back at her and smiled with closed lips before taking a breath. "Just, because," he left it at that.

Vanessa nodded. She wanted him to say more and yet she didn't. Her torn heart would keep the wound that opened when the two of them separated. But at least a portion of it might heal after this little visit – just, because.

She took the picture from his hands and placed both of them back on the table. With a deep breath she chanced looking into his eyes and changed the subject to a safer topic. "You need to eat before you take that, don't you? Are you hungry?" She pointed at the bottle in his hands.

Zac nodded in agreement to both questions and then ran a hand over his broken jaw. He took Vanessa's hand and urged her to stand from the bed before he also got up and began walking toward the door.

"The codeine makes me sleepy," he said as they headed down the hallway.

"That's good," Vanessa answered. "Eat, take your medicine and then hopefully you can rest for a while."

"Thank you," Zac offered with a touch of her shoulder.

Both stopped at the end of the hallway. Vanessa turned to look up at him and smiled. "I needed to see you," she admitted again.

"I'm glad you did," Zac lifted his hand and ran the tip of his finger around the outside of her forehead and down her cheek, moving her hair out of her face.

Vanessa tilted her face toward his touch and smiled easily with her lips. "After we eat, you go rest. I'll clean up and then probably head back home so I don't disturb you."

She could see the disappointment in his eyes at the thought of her leaving and could tell he was slightly upset about that idea.

"Okay," he gave in to her plan and finally moved his hand away from her body.

**Rehab5**

Their meal was quiet; Zac slightly slurped his meal through a straw. They shared a few more easy laughs and somewhat one-sided conversation thanks to his injury. And when they finished eating Zac took his bowl to the sink and turned back toward the table where Vanessa was drinking the last of her soda.

"Hug?" Zac asked as she stood and started to gather her dishes.

Vanessa smiled, knowing he was probably beginning to feel the effects of his pain killer.

"Of course," she put her glass down on the table and took a slow step toward him.

Zac reveled in the feel of her arms around him, her cheek against his chest and just having her in his arms for even another moment.

"You only love once," he whispered against her hair.

This time Vanessa knew exactly what he said. She felt the slight twist in her stomach as she wondered again where her heart stood on that statement. Still she gave his body a little extra squeeze before loosening her embrace and stepping away from him.

"I still won't see you at the reunion, will I?" She wondered.

Zac shook his head. "I can't, Nessa. I love you," he started and his eyes widened with the realization of what he was saying, "…you and Mo and Ash…all of you…but I can't."

Vanessa nodded her understanding and then pointed to the living room instructing him to go and rest.

"Zac?" she caught his attention one more time before putting her mind back on the task of cleaning up.

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

"We…I love you, too."

The two former lovers let their eyes hold the gaze for just a beat longer than necessary, conveying the feelings that could never possibly leave their hearts completely.

**REHAB – The End – REHAB**


End file.
